Photoshop Keyboard
Fellow artists will probably mock me for this (can’t handle quick keys, Dave?), but yeah this is something I would like when I am working in Photoshop. Just something I can sit in front of me and tap to switch tools on the fly. This would be similar to smaller keypads used for PC games.
I called it a keyboard but it is mostly made of dials, allowing you to toggle between the subset of tools as well. Each dial or button would have a light indicator to show what is in use. The two color palettes would have RGB LEDs to approximate colors in use as well. Each tool would be touch activated, no need for button presses.
This would be about 8 - 9″ long, and 1 1/2″ wide. The dials in this design scroll side-to-side, but many would probably prefer the up-down orientation (D’oh shoulda just done that).
Initially I wanted to design something where you could just swap out keypad icons to allow for other programs to use this besides Photoshop, but those subset menus warranted dials.
Bonus Idea: I’d like to see smartphones or tablets become extensions of workstations, where toolbars and color docks can reside. That way you can just tap on the small screen in front of you to switch tools or colors or whatever. It would be a convenient means of interacting with your software program, ideal for art or video editing. Essentially it would be like adding the Razer Blade screen to your standard keyboard and mouse setup.
Posted on November 10, 2012, in Art, Computers, Electronics, Tools and tagged Adobe, Electronics, Gadgets, Keyboard, Logitech. Bookmark the permalink. 4 Comments.
Awesome idea! You could always have a much more expensive version with each button as a small basic screen (or just a one screen that looks like buttons but has texture to differentiate) where you could change what the icon looks like that way.
I like this idea a lot! I go back and forth between PS, AI , and ID so much that I can never remember which quick keys are for which program.
I’d prefer a swappable insert for each program, though, where hitting the same button would switch between tool functions; I can easily flick my eyes over and see which version of a tool is selected (plus a physical dial couldn’t reflect a tool change done on-screen unless it had a way of turning itself back). Inserts would also mean more people able to use one marketable device, fewer items on the shelf to confuse shoppers, and possibly the sale of “expansion packs” for other programs and “upgraded” inserts for new versions
I always found it funny that a cell phone was the same size as a computer mouse but that the two never became one. A Bluetooth connection would make an easy way to have a mouse around your portable laptop - just need to make models with left and right buttons. For smartphones, you could use the screen like a touchpad mouse, only, it would be on your right side (if you’re righthand-sided) of the screen instead of your front-middle of the computer. You could even use that special moment to… charge your cell phone with a little wire plugged in the computer. That’s when it becomes cool : your iPad in the middle, your cellphone/mouse to the right, your Photoshop keyboard to the left. A bit of creativity and your going !
There’s an app for that! http://www.photoshop.com/products/mobile/nav